The present invention pertains to a functional unit including at least one hollow rod of a longitudinally gathered, flexible packaging tube based on cellulose hydrate having a latent water-content, as well as the supporting- and protective-sheath which tightly encloses the hollow rod on all sides in a practically gas impermeable manner.
Hollow rods of longitudinally gathered or shirred, flexible packaging tubes based on cellulose hydrate are employed in large quantities in connection with the preparation of various types of sausages. In accordance with the use for which they were intended, the hollow rods--closed on one end--are placed on their open end over the filling tube of a machine for filling a sausage composition. Through the filling tube, the sausage composition is then continuously pressed into the hollow interior of the hollow rod. As this takes place, the gathered tube which forms the hollow rod is continuously unfolded in accordance with the rate at which it is filled, and the entire unfolded length of the tube is filled with the sausage composition. In order to facilitate the filling process of the gathered sausage casing by providing a particular flexibility thereof, and in order to prevent damage to the sausage casing, the hollow rod is typically wetted prior to its use in the filling process. This is accomplished, for example, by placing the hollow rod for a predetermined period of time into a tank filled with water. This process involves additional work, and in addition, there exists a danger that the wetting of the hollow rod does not take place sufficiently uniformly.